1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system power management, and more particularly to a system and method for adaptive information handling system power management.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
One issue often considered in the design and use of information handling systems is power consumption. Desktop information handling system operating in an enterprise environment can consume a considerable amount of energy. This has led to the incorporation of various power management capabilities in operating systems to conserve energy. For portable information handling systems, the use of these power management capabilities have the added benefit of conserving battery life by reducing power consumption during end user inactivity. The power management scheme commonly used with the Microsoft Windows operating system is the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) having five power states known as S1 through S5. The ACPI S3 standby mode saves power by shutting down most components but performing a “slow refresh” for information stored in RAM. The S3 power mode substantially reduces power consumption yet allows for relatively rapid recovery to an operational state since the operating system remains loaded in RAM, thus alleviating the need to boot the system. The S4 hibernate mode saves additional power by storing RAM information in persistent memory, such as a hard disk drive, and then powering down the RAM and other components powered in the S3 mode. Although the S4 mode essentially is an off mode without power provided to the information handling system components, the system transitions to an operational state without a boot by retrieving the information stored on the hard disk drive to RAM. Recovery to an operational state with information stored RAM is more rapid than recovery with information stored in a hard disk drive.
Although ACPI reduced power states reduce power consumption when used, end users often find them inconvenient and thus disable them. Typically, ACPI reduced power states are setup to take effect after certain time periods have passed, such as 15 minutes in which the end user has not manipulated an I/O device. Unfortunately, entry into a reduced power mode often seems to coincide with an end user need to access the system. The transition from a reduced power mode to an operational state delays end user access and thus encourages end users to disable automated entry into reduced power states. Some cascading systems transition first to the S3 reduced power states and then, after an additional time period, transition from the S3 reduced power state to the S4 reduced power state. Although the S4 state reduces power consumption, the transition to an operational state takes a longer period of time, which tends to increase end user frustration with automated power savings.